Following its creation after a constitutional amendment in 1954, the Texas State Building Commission consisted of the governor, attorney general, and the chairman of the Board of Control. The commission designed, built, and remodeled state buildings, while also erecting historical memorials and monuments. Additionally, it sponsored an archaeology program to recover prehistoric data and artifacts. Five years after the Fifty-ninth Legislature instated the State Building Construction Administration Act in 1965 to better manage the construction and cost of new buildings, the Sixty-first Legislature ratified another act requiring the commission to ensure handicap accessibility. In 1977, the state legislature eliminated the commission, transferring its responsibilities to the Board of Control, later renamed the State Purchasing and General Services Commission.

An archaeological report composes the Texas State Building Commission Records, 1968, documenting the commission’s excavations at two Texas gulf coast sites in Jackson and San Patricio counties. Authored by Dee Ann Story, the report contains drawings, charts, and photographs of artifacts and archaeological trenches.

Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.